Tom Huff has been a resident at Caressant Care Lindsay since 2017. Since moving into the long-term care home, Tom has taken it upon himself to take care of the home’s patios, gardens, and plants year-round.

“Tom is an active member of our family, facilitating gardening programs, shopping for our outdoor spaces, and is always recruiting other residents to reap the benefits of horticultural therapy,” explained Angela Bryan, the Director of Care at Caressant care Lindsay. “He encourages others to spend time outdoors and is great at promoting conversations among residents and staff alike.”

Tom graduated from the University of Guelph for agriculture and then went to the University of Toronto for Teacher's College. He then began his teaching career, combining his love of education with his love of science and horticulture.

The staff are very familiar with Tom’s love of plants and gardening – some have had the pleasure of being taught by him! He also spent some time volunteering at the home and bringing students to tend to the gardens over the years. Now that he’s living there, he’s taken this passion to a whole new level.

Bryan noted that because they have Tom taking such good care of their gardens, they decided to recently purchase a vertical garden to plant herbs and vegetables for the residents to enjoy.

“Tom will be certainly be the one caring for our vertical garden all year long!”

Tom does not expect anything in return for the hard work he has put into maintaining the home’s gardens. He does it for his love of gardening.

“Tom has done a phenomenal job with our gardens, which were extremely overgrown,” added Bryan. “He maintains them daily, watering, weeding, and pruning. We have received a great deal of compliments from staff, residents and families on these gardens since he has taken them over and the patio is used more than it ever has been. It’s really a wonderful thing for everyone and we’re just happy he has the opportunity to continue working on a passion that gives him purpose while positively affecting others.”

In photos (top to bottom): Tom Huff waters some of the plants inside Caressant Care Lindsay; the outdoor gardens at the home which Tom maintains.